


pick me up

by ButterflyMaven



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Baking, Fluff, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mentions of PTSD, Mentions of Panic Attacks, Mutual Pining, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Pre-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Pre-Relationship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-21
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-08-05 04:28:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16360796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ButterflyMaven/pseuds/ButterflyMaven
Summary: When Tony came home after being away for a while to find Steve baking in the common room, he was dead sure that he was a goner for the super soldier. Trading off the kevlar, cowl and vibranium shield, it was just Steven Grant Rogers in his loose sweats, oven mittens and an awful bright orange apron.Frankly, that version quickly became Tony's favourite.





	pick me up

**Author's Note:**

> just some fluff for a sunday afternoon :)

* * *

 

 

Thirty five hours and seventeen minutes.

That was how long Tony had been working. Travelling. Meeting people, shaking hands. 

Not an ounce of sleep in between.

He was finally back in New York, and ready to crash into anything between the driveway of his garage to the grease-stained cot in his lab. But since JARVIS was a sneaky AI with too much personality, he insisted that Tony visited the common floor before he caught up with his much needed sleep. Tony was irritable, already grumpy from the lack of rest. To make matters worse, the drink that Happy picked up for him was not his usual order, and it was diabolical. 

The coffee machine at the common floor was actually the main reason why Tony agreed to take the detour. He needed his caffeine fix, regardless that he was running on borrowed time. When he reaches the floor, he finally understands why JARVIS had led him here.

If he was on zombie mode earlier, he was wide awake now.

Captain America minus the uniform was a sight to behold. 

He stood in a perfect posture with his blonde short hair unkempt and pointing in every direction. For once, Steve was wearing a loose pair of grey sweatpants with a matching hoodie comfortably hanging off his broad shoulders instead of those obscenely tight Under Armour workout shirts he loved. He was crossing his arms with mittens over his hands and a bright orange checkered apron wrapped around his narrow waist, staring intently at the oven. There was flour everywhere across the kitchen top, baking utensils that Tony had never seen before were half-used and dusted with white powder. The smell of fresh cookies filled the air, there was a hint of cinnamon and peppermint, but curiously, there were none in sight.

At the edge of the countertop, Tony sees grocery bags. There’s an opened milk carton, two trays of eggs – one empty, the other having four left – and … pop tarts? Those must have been for Thor.

Two steps out of the elevator, Steve perks up and the first thing that Tony notices was a speck of white powder on those defined cheekbones of his. It was as though time went on slow motion from there on. Steve tilts his head, and from a blank expression, the corners of his lips turn upwards, his eyebrows lift, giving life to his glistening aqua blue eyes. A ray of sunlight casts over him as he moves towards Tony, almost gravitates, and the sway of his hips as he strolls closer sends a warm feeling through Tony’s veins.

This shouldn’t feel so domesticated, like coming home to someone after a long day at work, but it does.

Tony could not help but sink into the feeling.

“Hey Cap,” Tony greets with a reciprocating smile. It reaches his eyes, because he means it. He takes a sip of his iced coffee to avoid looking way too happy to see his team mate.

Only, he was.

“Tony,” Steve calls out happily, and Tony loves the way Steve says his name (when they’re not arguing, of course). He watches as Steve plucks the mittens off. He then licks his lips. The moisture on the smooth, cherry curves of his mouth captures Tony’s eyes, and the brunette had to fight the urge to lick his own. That would have been too obvious. “I didn’t think you’d be back so soon? Sorry about the mess.”

“Don’t sweat it. It’s about time someone uses this kitchen. Why were you giving the oven the Captain America Look of Disapproval? Was it not preheating according to the mission plan?”

Oh that smile. That sheepish, half-smile and microscopic frown.

Just does it for Tony every damn time. He wouldn't dare call this - whatever it was that they do all the time - flirting, but the other man sure didn't seem to have any complaints or showing signs of discomfort.

“Har-har, funny. Listen, you’re going to have to leave. You’re really not supposed to be here.”

“Excuse me? I flew back from the other side of the country for three and a half hours, and you’re kicking me out of my own kitchen?”

Steve nods, then shrugs like it was the most reasonable thing.

“ _Rude_. What are you baking, Cap? Channeling your inner Martha Stewart?”

“You’ll see soon enough. Now get outta here, they're not ready,” Steve says, reaching to grab Tony’s shoulders and twisting the shorter man around to lead him back where he’d come from.

Tony should be affronted for being manhandled like that, but he plays along anyway. He wasn’t going to make it easy though. “Why do I have to leave? It smells amazing in here. I know there are cookies. Chocolate chip and peppermint.” Tony brakes with one foot, and Steve bumps against his back. “Come on. One cookie?"

“No.”

“ _No_? You're unnecessarily cruel today. Look, I’ll trade you some of my iced coffee?”

Steve snorts, but Tony could feel him take a whiff of him right by his neck. It was almost as though Steve was scenting him. It’s a good thing that he decided to take a shower before he took the jet back from Malibu. Anytime now, Steve could just back off. But he doesn’t. They stay that way in what felt like an eternity of bliss, Steve’s chest almost plastered on Tony’s back, his hands on Tony’s forearms. Taking a chance, Tony leans back and looks up to Steve, wiggling his eyebrows to keep the moment playful and not full on sexual.

“It’s hazelnut macchiato,” Tony sing-songs, tempting his blue-eyed crush.

“If I recall correctly, ' _that's technically sugar water, Steve!_ ", the super soldier said, mimicking Tony's voice and sounding nothing like him at all. "Besides, don't you hate Starbucks?” Steve points out as he slowly draws back, and Tony lets out a small whine at the loss of proximity. He masks it as annoyance that Steve was calling out his choice of beverage.

“Yeah well beggars can’t be choosers. I needed some sugar in my system. Been a long week, Cap.”

"Somehow that word coming out of your mouth sounds -"

"I leave you for four days and you turned into a wisecracking little monster. JARVIS, call Hill. I think Captain America's been body swapped with a 16 year old teenager."

Steve laughs, leaning against the wall, watching the tired lines of Tony’s face. He had been gone for days cleaning up the last remnants of his old house destroyed in the missile attack, tying loose ends before the final goodbye. Tony finally found the time to sell the estate and completely move to New York, to live in the tower with his new roommates. The Triskelion fiasco took a lot of Tony's attention so after putting off the sale for almost a year, this was the last time Tony was going to be making frequent trips back to California.

“I know it's been a hard week for you, Tony,” Steve says apologetically, even though he had nothing to do with the house getting blown up. “That’s what’s all this is about, actually. I wanted to, uh, surprise you. I mean, it probably wouldn’t turn out good. You don’t even hafta try them. It’s silly even.“

Was Tony that sleep deprived? Did Steve just said what he thought he said? “You baked me cookies to …?”

Steve sighed, but not unhappily. “Just thought you needed a … pick-me-up? I know you’ve had a lot on your plate, you'e been dealing with Congress since the Mandarin, with the Triskelion mess that I made, and Pepper leaving, the suits... and I haven’t been all that supportive either. In fact the past couple of weeks, I’ve been taking so much of your time-“

“Hey,” Tony warns, stopping him. “You are not a burden. Alright? We talked about this. Don’t you ever think that way.”

“I know but it’s a lot for anyone to deal with. Especially you, and you’ve got your own –“

“-demons to fight? Exactly why you don’t have to feel like this is a hardship for me. I can almost assure you each and every one of those people downstairs are equally ready to be here for you, because we're all damaged in a lotta ways. Look at Barton. The man lives and breathes mischief and sunshine but deep down, he's barely pulling it through if it wasn't for Romanoff. We all need someone, Steve. It doesn't have to be me, but I'm more than happy to stick around for you."

“Thank you, Tony.” Steve appears to have more to say, but he stops himself. Tony lets that slide.

“You alright since I’ve been away? How’s the sleep?”

“Not so great. But I’ve been keeping myself occupied with all this,” Steve nudges back to the kitchen. “It helps getting my mind off the uh, nightmares. Keeps me off the roof.”

“Yeah well Daddy's home now. We'll get you sorted," Tony said without thinking. A flash of red spreads across Steve's face and the super soldier ducks his face away and clears his throat loudly. It did not escape Tony that Steve had flushed hard and it was definitely something he had just said. 

_No way._

"Come on, I'll give you a sneak peak," Steve suddenly says, eyes averted, nudging backwards. 

They walk back to the kitchen, Steve leading the two. Tony had full view of that ass he’d been wanting to tap from the day Steve moved into the Tower but swipes away the dirty thoughts. _This was not the time, Tony. Steve’s being really nice to you, don’t freak him out with your fantasies,_ Tony warns himself.He continued looking though, since it was in his line of vision – it’s a glorious view anyway.

Reaching over the counter, Tony’s eyes popped.

A whole tray of Iron man cookies, decorated in red gold and silver icing, in even sizes laid on a cooling tray hidden from view. Most of them were perfect, but there were a couple that looked a little deformed but in a cute way. The stronger whiff of chocolate and peppermint filled Tony’s nostrils and it melts his heart. He hadn’t realized how wide his smile had grown and he looks to Steve.

“Holy shit, you made me Iron Man cookies,” he says, shaking his head in disbelief.

Steve gushes. “I don’t know if they’re any good. I think I burned them a little but they’re, uh they’re covered in frost so you wouldn’t be able to see. The second batch should be better though. Maybe you should wait for those? I think you should really wait for those, these aren’t that good for sure -”

Tony picks up a cookie and bites into it.

Delicious.

And he wanted to make sure Steve knew how much he appreciated the gesture. He wraps his arms around the super soldier and tightly hugs him, grabbing the back of Steve’s neck to hold him close. Before he drew back, he kisses Steve softly on the cheek, making sure the pressure was light but meaningful. The kiss was okay, Tony reasons with himself, because he kisses everyone regularly. The entire team was aware that Tony does whatever he wants, including pecking people randomly when his mood was better.

So far nobody has made a comment that Steve received the most kisses. In fact, he was as heavily affectionate towards his team leader as he was unruly.

This time, Tony tastes icing sugar. Oh he really should’ve left it with just the hug.

“You literally are the peak of human perfection. You punch Nazis, you fight aliens, you take down HYDRA and you bake chocolate chip and peppermint cookies. What _can’t_ you do?” Tony asks, half teasing. Again, he pressed himself to not make it weird. _Keep it casual_ , he reminds himself. _You don't want it to go that far_. But he lies – he _did_  want to do was kiss Steve on the lips, dirtily and hungrily, right there in the middle of the kitchen, ravish the man until they're both breathless.

What he didn't want to do was ruin their friendship, in case he _was_ imaging Steve's interest in him was beyond all that is platonic.

Tony did have a wild imagination, after all.

The blond sheepishly smiles and scratches his eyebrow. Tony notices that Steve does that a lot when they talk, and the stuttering mid-sentence was something that never happened when the Captain led missions or conducts briefings with the team. Around him, alone without spectators, Steve was someone else. Someone relatable, someone almost unsure of himself, but clever enough to return Tony's barbs.

Steve was someone who looked like he genuinely did enjoy Tony's company, all of it, and didn't have a problem of showing it.

Tony picks up his iced coffee and offers it to Steve. “Deal’s a deal.” He watches as Steve’s lips capture the metal straw without taking the cup, his tongue slightly drawn out. He takes a sip and plays with the beverage on his mouth before swallowing. Of course, Tony follows every movement with an appetite.

“It’s really sweet,” Steve says. “Probably not my type.”

“Yeah you like ‘em black, bitter and scalding. Painful to swallow but addictive once you have it in your mouth. Hey, that should have been on my SHIELD profile” Tony humors, then realizes what he had insinuated. “Thanks, Steve,” he quickly backpedals, chanting _Don’t make it weird, Don’t make it weird_ in his head. “The cookies are amazing. They’re all for me, right? It’s literally got my face on them. Technically my armor but whatever. God, I miss my suits.”

The last sentence came out of nowhere and Tony’s breathe hitches. He sighs and looks at Steve – they’ve had this conversation before in one of those nights that Tony has spent sitting on the roof with Steve, calming the super soldier down from his panic attacks drawn from nightmares that never seemed to leave the captain. It was either Tony was there for Steve, or vice versa. Only difference was, Steve found solace on high places. Tony on the other hand morphs into a obsessive hermit when his episodes begin, so Steve would sit with him in his lab until he was ready to leave again.

The bond had become symbiotic.

“I tell ya what,” Steve says, breaking into Tony’s thoughts. “I’ll put those in the oven, and I’ll grab us some milk and a couple of these. We can go down to your lab and have a look at the blueprints. Mark 43 wasn’t it?”

Tony stills. “Do you think it’s a good idea for me to get back in the game?”

Steve leans closer and bows his head to capture Tony’s eyes, his long lashes flutter as he smiles. “Only if you want to, Tony. When you’re ready. Doesn’t mean you can’t do what you love most and work on the armour in the meantime.”

“What if I get in a funk again? The last time I built anything, I couldn't stop-“

“I’ll be right there with you. I’ll pull you out if you get in too deep.”

Tony was still unsure. “I wouldn’t hold my breathe if I were you, Cap.”

Steve draws a smug look on his face, as though challenged. “Is that so? Well I’ve got a good pair of enhanced lungs, Tony. You can test them out anytime," he says with a wink.

Tony rolls his eyes, feigning annoyance and trying his best to ignore the innuendo. There was no way Steve could have meant what Tony had hoped he had. "How about right now?" Tony shoots back without thinking too far ahead. 

Steve blinks. 

He swallows nervously. 

"Uh ... what, what do you have in mind?" Steve asks, his face turning red again. 

 

 

 

 

What they actually end up doing that afternoon was singing karaoke in Tony's lab with Tony teaching Steve the words to all of Abba's greatest hits. Steve really liked Dancing Queen for some reason. Sleep came much later, in a form of Tony dozing off on Steve's shoulder, snuggled on the grease-stained cot.

It was the best sleep they've had in months.

It was definitely good to be home again. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> ..too funny not to tell! i actually posted this fic before editing it on Ao3 and received a very kind comment for an unfinished work! gosh that was embarrassing and heartwarming at the same time. i'm really a new kid on the block, so please leave some love to let me know i'm not entirely hopeless lol thanks for reading!


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